Library Leadership in Community Development. Township Of Ramara Public Library. Community Information Portal/Our Ramara

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1 Library Leadership in Community Development Township Of Ramara Public Library Category/Project: Population: Municipality Type: Status: Land Area: Community Information Portal/Our Ramara 9,427 doubles in summer with cottages Small rural Single tier km² HIGHLIGHTS A community coalition initiated by the Township of Ramara Chamber of Commerce, the Township of Ramara Public Library and the Town Council undertook to develop a database to promote and encourage the pride in the area s people, history and culture. The project was extremely successful, with the coalition growing to include more than twenty-five partners and raising thousands of dollars to complete the database. An annual Fun Fest, now in its fourth year, grew out of the initial project and brings the community together in the summer. An extension to the original database project now seeks to build capacity in the respective partners. The Township of Ramara Public Library has been a key player in this project. Municipal Context: Ramara Township, part of Simcoe County, is in the centre of Cottage Country along the north-eastern shores of Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching. The township offers beautiful shorelines, cottage and resort properties available for sale or rent, clean water, public beaches, camping, sports, conference facilities and retirement communities. Casino Rama lies slightly to the North on the Chippewas of Rama First Nation reserve. Ramara was formed in 1994 through the amalgamation of the townships of Rama and Mara and includes some forty-five small communities many of which are retirement communities. Page 1 of 9

2 Economic Drivers: Basically, the area is agricultural country, though it is not prime agricultural land. While there is some small industry and business, as well as summer tourism, the area does not offer much of a corporate sector and tourism and retail do not provide enough opportunities for economic growth because they are not high-paying enough. Casino Rama is the biggest employer. Many young people feel they have to leave home to find work and a lifestyle at least initially: therefore, economic development is very important for the community. Board chairperson Charles Manners left as a young person for his education, but has returned as a practicing lawyer to raise his family here. Transportation is also a big issue for the area. There is bus service between Toronto and Washago and many opportunities for charter buses to Casino Rama. The unstaffed Washago railway station is located within the township and is the first stop west of Toronto Union Station for both the Ontario Northland railway and Via Rail service to the North and western Canada respectively. Demographics: % population aged 15 and over 84.5 Median Age 45.9 (Statistics Canada 2006) Library Context: Branches: Ramara Township is a wide-spread rural community that is growing and everchanging. The library service strives to continuously change to meet the constant demands of the community. The library has two branches. A new library facility was opened in Atherley in February, 2001 and also houses a community centre. There is also a small branch in Brechin. All library patrons have to drive to the library. The Township of Ramara Public Library has 2800 active members, down from the previous number of There is a reciprocal borrowing agreement with the First Nation library in Rama and forty-eight members use the Rama library. Brechin and Lagoon City have 50% of the township population and many wealthy residents. Page 2 of 9

3 Organization: The nine-member board includes the Mayor and one other Councilor. Current Chairperson, Charles Manners, is a local lawyer who believes strongly in the influence the library can have on people in the community. According to CEO Banfield, both the Library Board and Township Council members recognize the constant requirements for versatility and change as the library progress. Instant access to global information has become commonplace, yet the community remains interested enough to keep sight of, and value, grassroots service. Library Vision: Individuals from all sectors of the community will be happy to participate in and fully utilize the library's programs and services designed for their specific needs. Mission: Ramara Township Public Library strives to provide information and materials of an educational, cultural and recreational nature in a responsive and progressive manner. Values: Honesty, Quality, Accountability, Professionalism, Sensitivity, Commitment The library has only five staff members, in addition to the CEO, Janet Banfield Statistics: Library Card Holders 2800 Library Visits 25,981 Library Budget - $267,734 Total Volunteer Hours 485 Project Profile: With the opening of the new community Centre, the library received many requests for various types of information that staff could not supply. There also seemed to be no source for communications, especially with the loss of the local web newspaper. The library was being thrust into the role of an Info Hub, that identified a gap in the service. The library knew that this was a service it needed to provide. Opportunity knocked for CEO Janet Banfield when she was asked to attend a meeting with some Chamber members and the Our Ramara concept was presented. The purpose of the initial concept was to find out who and what Page 3 of 9

4 was in the community and how should the community be represented. The group knew that this was something Ramara Township really needed based on requests the library had received. In addition, it was in line with the Library s mission to provide information and would increase the profile in the community. The Library Board also approved participation in the initiative knowing it would allow many community groups to come together, generate solutions and develop action plans to improve the cultural, economic, educational, recreational and social conditions of their community. Library CEO Janet Banfield and Julie Scott, presented the concept to construct a comprehensive database, Our Ramara, to showcase Ramara, and to promote and encourage pride in Ramara's people, its history, its culture... its unique rural and progressive character to Council. The project developed the following objectives: To develop and maintain a database and website. To increase awareness of Ramara's recreation, history, culture, tourism, businesses, government, social services, health, education and all community based organizations and associations. To promote and encourage accessibility to all our information through all means possible. To encourage and enhance community and economic development. To facilitate and share information by linking community partners and neighbouring communities. To foster and enhance civic pride and harmony throughout Ramara. To capture and preserve the unique rural and progressive culture and character of Ramara. There was an opportunity for the library to apply for a one-time Trillium grant of $14,100 to purchase the hardware for Our Ramara. A laptop computer, a multi-functional printer and a web server to house the website and database provided the technical foundation to build a website and database, collect data and house it all in a central location. Once the equipment was in place, staffing was the next priority. The Chamber had hired an individual through HRDC s Job Creation program and because they were the lead agency at the time, was able to offer full administrative services for the Our Ramara project. When that contract came to an end, Our Ramara had no finances to continue. During that timeframe, the coalition obtained a two-month co-op placement from the Page 4 of 9

5 Orillia Learning Centre. That person was able to search out a great deal of information and enter it into our database. The coalition of community partners grew. The coalition original members included the Township of Ramara, Provincial MPP, Federal MP, the Ramara Township Public Library Board, the Ramara Chamber of Commerce, the Community Foundation of Orillia & Area, Ontario s Lake Country, Mnjikaning First Nations, Casino Rama, Ramara Centre Board of Management, The Local Web, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Brechin Branch, Information Orillia, Friends of the Ramara Public Library, Ontario Healthy Communities Coalition and the Orillia & Area Community Development Corporation. There are now more than sixty coalition members. As a key player in the Our Ramara Coalition, the library played a leading role in the monthly meetings by creating and distributing minutes and agendas, participating on all Working Committees, recruiting new members to join the coalition and assisting with the development of grant applications. With Janet Banfield as Chair, the Coalition applied for and received a Library Strategic Development Fund grant of $7,824.50, with a matching in-kind contribution, to construct the back-end of the database. A facilitator from Ontario Healthy Communities Coalition provided a great deal of professional assistance with the development of their Mission Statement, Vision and Values. A Community Access Program (CAP) worker was hired with Industry Canada funding to develop a website, including a new, copyrighted logo for the Coalition, Our Ramara Connecting our Community. Another volunteer, Kevin Lehman, was enlisted to keep the Community Calendar up-to-date, and to start an link to all community organizations to alert them to current happenings. The Coalition also secured additional monies including a Federal Grant of $40,000, to implement a Rural Community Capacity Building initiative that would help to identify the community s gaps and needs. The Coalition continues to meet monthly to share information, communications and networking. CEO Janet Banfield believes that persistence paid off: Application for the Library Strategic Development Fund grant money was made three times before it was successfully obtained. Maintaining and keeping the database current has been onerous and continuity a challenge. However, a volunteer with considerable IT experience is addressing these issues and the Coalition is in the midst of recruiting two other volunteers to assist with keeping the database current. Page 5 of 9

6 Most Significant Outcomes: The Coalition won a number of awards including the Greatest Contribution to the Community Chamber of Commerce Award, recognition by the local MPP in 2007, the Minister s Award for Innovation in 2006, and a $5000 Council Grant for the Ramara FunFest. Permission was also sought to write and publish an article on the Ramara Township project by the Ontario Healthy Communities Coalition. A major outcome of Our Ramara has been the Our Ramara FunFest, an annual event since 2004 in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce. It is a summer festival day for the whole family featuring a variety of events geared to different age groups. There is the Children s Village with giant inflatable playgrounds and miniature golf, entertainers and face-painting, a local talent show and vendors and community displays as well as a Guitar Hero contest for teens. The beer tent and barbecue continues throughout the evening along with a family-friendly dance, including live entertainment. The fun fair has the support of many community-minded businesses, organizations and individuals, and most of the events are free or very reasonably priced. Our Ramara FunFest Planning Committee is chaired by the library CEO. The committee brought together many partners who had never worked together before and devised a passport for venues with a prize draw. FunFest has been a great morale booster. It has been great for public relations and engendered many press releases. The committee successfully obtained a 2-year seed grant of $76,300 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Therefore, there were virtually no costs the first year. The Brechin Legion and Lions Club coordinated and ran the barbeque and beer tent and one third of their profits were shared with FunFest. Many other local businesses donated cash, prizes and services. It created enough funds to hire a coordinator and filled the goal of building a stronger, more united community. An important result was that the Coalition and the Library began a formal reciprocal lending partnership with Rama Mnjikaning Public Library FunFest is now four years old. The first year was not financially successful because it rained heavily and a number of the activities had to be moved indoors. Subsequent years ran well and were increasingly well attended. Another outcome of particular note is the project that grew from the initial objective of a website and database. The partners and groups of the Our Ramara Coalition recognized a need to build their respective Page 6 of 9

7 capacity. The objectives have grown substantially to include asset mapping, gap analysis, web-based resource development and skills facilitation and development. o This project will create a broader awareness of Ramara Township s community assets and challenges, and will strengthen our rural community by developing local solutions to community challenges. Community groups will have the opportunity to develop skills and strategies necessary to sustain their organizations and enhance community partnerships. The asset mapping and gap analysis portions are now complete. For Julie Scott, a key player in the initial part of the project and facilitator for the capacity building piece, the project has generated a passion within the community and has opened the doors to the future of the Township. Julie applauded the support gained from the high schools in the community for the project because economic development is important to the youth in the community. After talking to young people in two high schools, she found that many felt they had to leave home initially in order to establish their preferred life style and careers. Subsequently, the Gap Analysis identified that there are not enough activities in the community for the youth. The involvement of the youth in the project resulted in an agreement from Council to set up a Youth Committee to advise Council on pertinent matters. Similarly, the support from the whole spectrum of the community was invaluable. Other issues brought to light are the importance of water in the area, the environment, and of recreational facilities. In September, 2008, Julie Scott was to begin the future planning in which the Our Ramara Coalition of Community Partners would address what it can now take on and bring to a successful completion and how Council can be encouraged to take on a more pro-active role. There is more awareness of the community as a whole and for the public, new information-sharing networks, and economic development for local businesses. The media (Orillia Packet newspaper) will print any information from the Library/Coalition committee for free. The Library is now seen as the hub of the community and the place to look for information on the community and events. The project raised the profile of the Public Library in the community significantly. The Page 7 of 9

8 library CEO is invited to sit on many local Boards and is asked for assistance with grant writing. According to Board Chairperson Chuck Manners, the library has brought hundreds of thousands of dollars into the community as a result of this project. Lessons Learned: 1. Key informant Julie Scott feels that the Library CEO has provided the impetus and leadership for the community development that has taken place. Key informant Kevin Lehman became attracted to the Community Coalition project and bought into Janet Banfield s vision for the Library. He admired her drive and saw her as a resource, recognizing that her leadership was not ego-driven. 2. There is power in partnerships but when contemplating major partnership projects, participants must be prepared to work hard. There is a time commitment that must be made and kept. It is important to develop a strong team and in order to do that, there must be awareness of the skill sets of those around the table, for example, IT experience or ability to prepare applications. One s own skill set grows with innovation too, so it is possible to develop the ability to recognize the skill sets of others 3. It is essential to garner the support of the Municipality and, ideally, have a Town staff member on the Committee. Another key partnership should be the local Chamber of Commerce. 4. The board s relationship with Council is extremely important to nurture and maintain. Board Chair Chuck Manners indicates that the board meets quarterly with Council in order to clear up issues before they become problems. The Board also regularly invites Council to celebrations. Our Ramara keeps the library in front of Council. Funding from Council has increased as costs have increased. The board also maintains good relationships with the CAO and Town treasurer. KEY INFORMANTS SITE VISIT (August 18, 2008) Public Library Janet Banfield, CEO Board Chair, Chuck Manners Page 8 of 9

9 Community Partner Julie Scott, Coalition Facilitator/Consultant. Community Partner Kevin Lehman, volunteer Site Visit Study Team Randee Loucks, Consultant Shelagh Harris, Ontario Library Boards Association Councilor Page 9 of 9